After 40 Years on the Lam, Rape Suspect Finally Faces Jail Time

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In 1970, Russell Benjamin Pearce was charged with raping a then-19-year-old girl in Sullivan County. He skipped his court date, and he was not seen or heard from again until … 2010, when he was found in Pennsylvania. Now 74, Pearce pleaded guilty on Wednesday to fleeing prosecution; the rape case against him has been dismissed, since the victim can no longer testify, due to “illness.” Pearce is expected to serve twelve months in prison. No word on what he’s spent the past 40 years of his life doing. [NYP]